julius sachs



U TED STATES PATENT OFFI JOSEPH J. sAoHs, .OF MANCHESTER, COUNTY or LANCASTER, ENGLAND.

PREPARING'AND BLEACHING JUTE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 244,674, dated July 19, 1881. Application filed uly 1, 1880. (No model.) Patented in England June 16, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J osnrn JULIUS SACHS, of Manchester, in the county of Lancaster, Eng land, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Decoloring Jute, China Grass, and other Vegetable Fibers, of which the following is a specification.

My said invention relates to the treatment ofvegetable fibers-such, for example, as jute, Ohina grass, hemp, flax, and other like fibers in order to render them curly and elastic, more pliable and less colored, and therefore more suitable for spinning, weaving, dyeing, mauufacturin g paper, felt, and for other purposes, either alone or mixed with other fibers of vegetable or animal origin.

According to my said invention I cut the fibers in lengths varying, according to'the purpose for which they are to be used, from, say, one and one-half inch to two or three inches in one case, and from about six to twelve or eighteen inchesin other cases. After or previously to this operation I separate the adhering fibers by pressure applied by elastic or other rollers, or by any other suitable means. The fibers thus prepared are then treated with a bleaching agent in solution-'- such, for example, as bleaching-powder, chlorozone, or similarly-acting agents, or potassium, permanganate, the latter beingfollowed by a suitable acid -such, for example as hydrochloric acid, oxalic acid, sulphurous' acid, and the like. After the bleaching solution has been drained off or otherwise removed the fiber is brought into a curly and more elastic state by introducing into ita solution of canstic soda or potash, or of any other material which will cause the fiber to contract and to curl-such, for example, as zinc chloride, dilute sulphuric acid,and the like. In order to modify the contracting and curling action of these substances, I sometimes add to the caustic solution. small quantities of other substances-such, for example, as borax, sodium silicate, ammonia, and the like-in the proportion of, say, from about one-quarter to one-half per cent. of the weight of the solution, according to the qualties of the fibers and the kind of modification intended.- The solutions should be of sufficient strength to.

tic soda should contain, say, from about ten to thirty per cent. of sodium hydrate, (NaOH,) according to the quality of the fibers. The fibersremain in the solution until they appear to be sufficiently curly, which result will usu; ally be accomplished in, say, from about two to ten minutes. The fibers are then freed from the solution by any suitable means-es, for example, by squeezing between rollers, or byvthe use of an hydro-extractor or otherwise-and are next treatedwith snitableneutrali'zin g agentsas, for example, in case of caustic alkalies having been used, with acids, such as muriati orsulphuric'acid or the like, and in case: of acids having been used in order to contract and cure the fibers,with alkalies, alkaline salts, ammonia, and the like-which neutralizing agents are afterward removed by washing, the fiber being subsequently dried either at the usual or at an elevated temperature.

The fibers treated in the manner hereinbe fore described offer great facilities for dyeing and printing, either used alone or mixed with other fibers, especially with those of animal origin, which qualities, combined with their curly wool-like appearance, render them very valuable in the production of imitations of textile fabrics, especially as they can be combed and spun together with other (and particularly animal) fibers-such, for example, as wool and the like.

Having now described my said invention and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I am aware that it has previously been proposed to treat fibers with a solutionof caustic soda; but in such cases the fiber has been operated upon in its natural length, and has been submitted to the action of the solution for a protracted period, and has, moreover, been subjected to a multiplicity of preliminary and subsequent processes involving great expense. Ilay no claim, there- 'fore, to the use of a solution of caustic soda,

except when the fibers are prepared for such solution and operated upon therewith, as here= in set forth; but

What I consider to be noveland original, and therefore claim herein, is-

The method of rendering vegetable fibers curly, more pliable, and less colored, and there fore more suitable for spinning, weaving, dye

in g, and printing, by subjecting them, after to this specification in the presence of two subcutting into lengths and bleaching, to the acscribing witnesses. tion of caustic soda or potash or other liquid of the character and strength described, and 5 then neutralizing and expressing the liquid,

substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed mynzune J. JULIUS SACHS.

Witnesses:

FREDK. O. DYER, OHAs. MILLS, Both of 47 Lincolns Inn Fields, London. 

